[Moira and Andrea are together at the beginning of Lunaside, and in the story they face all
kinds of challenges as a couple. However, every romance has a beginning -- regardless
of how humble and awkward it might be.]
The first time I
met Andrea I was standing in a strawberry field in a sundress with strawberries
on it holding a box of strawberries while my gourmet-chef father talked about
how to make strawberry marinade. And yet, I somehow wasn't the only one who
ended up embarrassed in that situation.
I didn't notice
that Andrea had been standing in the field with us during that whole
on-location filming of Taste of Trundle
Island, dad's cooking show. If I had been worried about more than how
horribly precious I looked in my strawberry ensemble, she might have stood out.
I imagine it's not every day that some girl dressed like an old retired guy
wanders into a strawberry field, seemingly from nowhere.
Not exactly
conspicuous, but it wasn't until my director cut filming and yelled "Can
someone please tell me who this kid is? Security?" that I saw her there.
I should
clarify: saw her there staring directly
at me.
I suppose I
should have found that a bit creepy, but as it turned out she was the producer's
daughter and she'd come down to see Dad and me in action.
Well, what she
literally said to our director was, "I asked my mom for permission to
visit. I'm kind of Moira's biggest fan," but my brain just could not
process that.
At the words "producer's
daughter," our director's expression melted from stern frown into
schmooze-grin. Shortly after, he suggested that we've been working too hard and
maybe it was time for a break.
My father, who
has been much more openly accepting of my sexuality than I would probably have
liked, immediately elbowed me with a wink.
"She's
pretty cute though," he commented, before sauntering off to join the
camera crew at the snack table.
Maybe he was
right. Maybe she looked adorable just standing there, looking a bit lost in her
sweater vest and few-sizes-too-big khakis, her very short, very black hair disheveled
by cowlicks.
However, here in
the real world my heart wasn't allowed to leap to think that this cute girl had
come to see me of all people.
Although everyone in my life knew that I liked girls, actually dating someone
was just something that seemed so hilariously unreasonable that I couldn't even
comprehend it.
But then as I got
closer, she caught my eye in a non-creepy-staring way.
"Hey,"
she said, "I'm Andrea."
"Uh, I'm
Moira," I replied, my nervous hand basically vibrating out to shake hers.
"I know,"
she answered.
When, after a
second or so of silence, we both broke down and laughed at that, I started
letting myself wonder if maybe this girl was thinking what I was thinking.
